The Small Business Owner

The Background

Husband and Wife who are directors of their own business and are in their early 50s who have worked hard in the business for many years and have decided that they want to get out at 60 but they have been too busy to make any plans and are worried that they will not be able to afford to step away.

The business has been doing very well and has built up large cash reserves.
On a personal level they have some short term debt as well as a mortgage.
They have personal savings as well as some pensions which they know very little about.
They each draw a very modest Salary from the business because they do not want to pay high levels of taxation.

The Challenge

They have had many different advisers calling to them over the years and have had some bad experiences and are very reluctant to engage with anybody from the Financial Services industry as a result.
So my initial challenge was to get them to give me enough time to explain what it is we do and how we could help them
After an initial discovery meeting where I laid out in detail how we work We both agreed that I would be able to help them.

The Process

We had a number of meetings where I developed a deep understanding of their situation and what their ambitions were for the future.
We built a robust Financial Plan built on prudent assumptions which took account of their individual circumstances and future lifestyle requirements.
We were able to demonstrate to them how they would be able to secure their future by taking certain courses of action now.

We increased their Salaries from the business which allowed them to pay off the short term debt and pay down the mortgage earlier.
We explained the tax advantages of extracting wealth from the business through Directors Pensions and the increased Salaries allowed them to extract more wealth from the business in a tax efficient manner.

We also explained other tax reliefs available to them as Business owners on exiting the business and have put plans in place to ensure that they can meet the criteria when they do decide to exit.

The Outcome

The clients now have clarity and peace of mind that they can retire at 60 if they wish.
Everything we have put in place is designed to meet their overall objectives and they know that they are doings things in the most tax efficient way to grow their wealth.

We will continue to work with them on an going basis to ensure that the plan we have built remains relevant and to adjust for any changes that need to be made along the way.